The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
For the most part, Canadian hockey fans were on the side of the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup final; although a closer look suggests maybe the Tampa Bay Lightning should've been the flavor of choice for Saskatchewan followers. Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards played three years of minor hockey in the province, including 1996-97 in the SJHL with the Notre Dame Hounds when he was chosen the league Rookie of the Year after registering 87-points. Richards left the SJHL for the Rimouski Oceanic and became a 3rd round pick (64th overall) of the Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. The Murray Harbour, PEI native used the Notre Dame motto of "Struggle and Emerge" this season as he got off to a slow start and returned to his native province for the first time in many years to reflect on what has been a short, but illustrious NHL career to date. He was a runner-up to San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov for the Calder Memorial Trophy (Top Rookie) in 2001. Richards finishes the playoffs with a league leading 26-points and he holds the NHL record for most game winning goals in one Stanley Cup Playoff season with seven. He is the first forward to win the Conn Smythe since Joe Nieuwendyk (Dallas) in 1999. Meanwhile, Ruslan Fedotenko finished in a tie with Richards for second in NHL playoff goal scoring with twelve. Fedotenko played for a season in Melfort with the SJHL's Mustangs. The crafty Ukranian had both goals in the series clincher on Monday night. He was acquired prior to the 2003 NHL Entry Draft from the Philadelphia Flyers for a first rounder (Joni Pitkanen). Centreman Vincent Lecavalier (like Richards) also played minor hockey at Notre Dame. However, he left for major junior after one season of midget with the Hounds.
